Lead Well

I get a lot of questions this time of year about what kind of Bible to buy for kids.  While there may be no perfect Bible out there for your kids, some are certainly better than others. It can be confusing with so many different translations and Bible types.  I want to help you make the best decision possible. First, let's talk about translations.  Before 1973 there weren't a lot of options out there.  You read King James Version (KJV) or nothing.  Thankfully, Zondervan put out the New International Version (NIV) and turned the Bible world up on its head. Now, there are hundreds of versions ranging from old school KJV to paraphrases like The Message by Eugene Peterson. Which one is right for your kids? It really depends on their reading ability and comprehension; however, there are a few versions that have stood out to me in the past few years.  They are: New International Version (NIV) New International readers Version (NIrV) New Living Translation (NLT) I'

Recently we held an all church volunteer training meeting at my home church.  It was a great morning full of fun, learning, and food.  The following is a my main talk about Owners Vs. Renters and the coinciding notes. Session Notes Student Notes Teacher Notes What trainings have you done with those you lead?

On May 27, I held a small group leader training that focused on classroom management.  We had a great time and learned a lot. Below you will find the training video as well as the notes for the training. Student Notes

Let’s face it life can get tough. We endure things we never thought we would have to endure. We experience pain and disappointment, and we’re left questioning, “why?” Just like you, I’ve been through those tough times. I’ll admit, I started to question everything. Even God. However, I kept coming back to that one inescapable truth. His grace is sufficient for me. Whatever we’ve been through, Jesus knows what it’s like. While here on Earth he experienced loss, heartbreak, betrayal, and quite literally excruciating pain. Jesus knows. He also didn’t give up. He knew he had a mission to accomplish. He knew before he ever came to Earth what he’d have to endure and that didn’t discourage him. Was he scared? Yes. Did he have moments of doubt? Yes. Did that stop him? No. Because of what Jesus did for us, we cannot give up. As Paul told Timothy , “[Paul] has fought the good fight and finished the race…” We should do the same. Paul also told the Philippians, “Do not b

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t initially sign up for this gig. To be honest I fought it. I have always been good with kids and can organize things quickly, so it was natural for the Youth Pastor to ask me to step in to kid’s church and help. You see, back in college I was interning at a local church. The children’s pastor had left, and the youth pastor was asked to step in. I really didn’t want to, but because I considered him a friend, I agreed to help for the summer. Before I knew it, I was running the thing and in a few short months, after leading a kid to Christ, I was hooked. Now I can’t imagine serving anywhere else. God has designed each one of us with gifts and talents. Just as Esther was put in a place for “such a time as this”, God has us in our place to do His work. Sure, I’m a pastor. That’s what I do everyday, but it wasn’t always this way. For a while, I worked at Sam’s club, and God used me there, too. (He taught me some stuff as well.) God can us

A few weeks ago, I started to build our Evangel Egg Hunt website.  I’m not a web developer by any means, but I know enough to get around.  As I was putting the finishing touches on the site, I realized there was a problem.  The menus didn’t work like they were supposed too!  It wasn’t a big deal, but it made the site look amateurish. I googled and asked around.  The first person I asked  wasn’t able to solve the problem, but pointed me in the right direction.  Energized, I spent 5 hours of my day off with my family trying to solve the problem, I was no further along than when I started.  I was stuck and had to ask for help.  In a matter of a few short hours the site was fixed. My story is a common one.  Change the names and the project, and we can all find ourselves there.  I call it being a Lone Ranger. It’s insisting on doing it on your own.  Lone Rangers take every task head on.  They are confident and competent.  They have been well trained and have a proven track record.  Th

The great thing about leaders is that they are always pushing the status quo. A great leader is never satisfied with the way things are and push to make them better.  Many leaders have a dream.  Whether it was planted in their hearts at a young age or discovered later in life, leaders have a desire to go places and take others with them. Unfortunately, our lives are not easy.  If we could accomplish our dreams as fast as we could pop a bag of popcorn then it wouldn't be a dream.  Dreams take time.  They take growth. They take persistence.  They take endurance.  Dreams bring about fear, joy, sadness, relief, frustration, and victory.  Ask someone who has achieved their dream, and they'll tell you the hardest parts and the most joy-filled.  They will tell you of seasons that brought pain, but ultimately made them better for it. I imagine if we were able to sit down with Joseph at the end of his life, he would tell us of all the bad things, but also the good things.  What h

It's the beginning of the year, and now that we're back from all the holly and eggnog of Christmas, we begin to look toward the new year.  Invariably, the national conversation has turned toward New Year's resolutions.  That term either brings great pride or equally great vitriol.  So many of us make these resolutions, and by the time Valentine's Day rolls around, they've long been forgotten. We don't have to live this way.  No matter who you are or what you do it is possible to set goals and keep them.  You just have to know how to do them effectively. There are several reasons we don't actually meet our goals.  Here are just a few: They are unattainable/unrealistic They take too long to accomplish They don't take enough time to really set in They're based on emotion They're are too many to focus on one. I'm sure you can think of many other reasons, but my point is we're pretty bad at getting them done.  May I make a sugge